Sunday, November 18, 2012

9 Surprising Benefits if you Sleep Well

9 Surprising Benefits if you Sleep Well

If you're getting less
than the recommended seven or eight hours of sleep a night, here are
nine reasons that you should shut down your computer, turn off the
lights, and go to bed an hour early tonight.

1. Better health.

2. Better relations with spouse

3. Less pain. If you have chronic pain -- or acute pain
from a recent injury -- getting enough sleep may actually make you hurt
less. Many studies have shown a link between sleep loss and lower pain
threshold. Unfortunately, being in pain can make it hard to sleep.

Researchers have found that getting
good sleep can supplement medication for pain. If pain is keeping you
up at night, there are also medications available that combine a pain
reliever with a sleep aid.

4. Lower risk of injury. Sleeping enough might actually
keep you safer. Sleep deprivation has been linked with many notorious
disasters, like the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger and the
grounding of the Exxon Valdez. The Institute of Medicine estimates that
one out of five auto accidents in the U.S. results from drowsy driving
-- that's about 1 million crashes a year.

Of course, any kind of accident is
more likely when you're exhausted, says Jodi A. Mindell, PhD, a
professor of psychology at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and
author of Sleep Deprived No More. "When you're overtired, you're
more likely to trip, or fall off a ladder, or cut yourself while
chopping vegetables," she says. "Household accidents like that can have
serious consequences."